Eiichi Kudō

Directing

Eiichi Kudō

Born — Died

1929-07-17 — 2000-09-23

Place of birth

Tomakomai, Hokkaido, Japan

Known for

Directing

Credits

44 titles

Eiichi Kudo (工藤 栄一, Kudō Eiichi, 17 July 1929 – 23 September 2000) was a Japanese film director. He directed 30 films between 1956 and 1998. His 1982 film Yaju-deka was entered into the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival. One of his most famous movies is the 1963 film 13 Assassins. This movie was remade in 2010 by Takashi Miike.

Known for

13 Assassins poster
7.5

A sadistic Daimyo (feudal lord) rapes a woman and murders both her and her husband, but even when one of his own vassals commits suicide to bring attention to the crime, the matter is quickly hushed up. Not only will there be no punishment, but because the Daimyo is the Shogun's younger brother, he will soon be appointed to a high political position from which he could wreak even more havoc. Convinced that the fate of the Shogunate hangs in the balance, a plot is hatched to assassinate the Daimyo. The two most brilliant strategic minds of their generation find themselves pitted against each other; one is tasked to defend a man he despises, and has a small army at his disposal. The other is given a suicide mission, and has 12 brave men. They are the 13 Assassins.

13 Assassins

1963

Eleven Samurai poster
7.5

The lord of the Oshi fief is killed by his trespassing neighbour, the cruel and despotic Nariatsu, son of the former Shogun. After an investigation, the Oshi clan is blamed for what happened and sentenced to be disbanded. Eleven of the best samurai of the clan refuse the sentence and are willing to give their life for justice.

Eleven Samurai

1967

The Great Killing poster
7.3

A cynical samurai is left as the sole survivor to fulfill a plot to assassinate the puppet of a villain intent on usurping the shogunate in the 17th century. A Shogunate Elder connives to rule Japan by making his puppet, the Shogun's brother Tsunashige, the next Shogun. The best strategist in Japan, Yamaga, leads a plot to stop the Elder, but his cabal is betrayed and most of the conspirators are captured and tortured.

The Great Killing

1964

Chronicle of the Town Magistrate poster
NR

In a maelstrom of evil, can a new magistrate, samurai Mochizuki Koheita, with a reputation like an alley cat, bring order to the town of Horisoto, or is he, too a corrupt villain looking to gain wealth from the oppressed people? From the pen of famed samurai author Yamamoto Shugoro, this exciting tale turns the tables on the standard samurai story with a unique lead character previously portrayed in Ichikawa Kon’s “Dora Heita.”

Chronicle of the Town Magistrate

1992

Saito Dosan: Rage of Power poster
6.5

During the age of warring clans (Sengoku Jidai), many samurai lords sought to unite the country under their banners by becoming the supreme leader. One of the first to vie for power in this way was Saito Dosan, the 'Viper'. His son-in-law, Oda Nobunaga, did in fact unite the nation after subduing all of his enemies, yet falling at last to the treachery of one of his most trusted generals. This story is a pre-cursor to those later events as the brilliant military strategist Saito Dosan rises to power and notoriety as a great lord in his own right. Directed by Kudo Eiichi and with a tremendous supporting cast that includes Nakamura Toru as Oda Nobunaga and Chiba Shinichi as Akechi Mitsutsugu, battle scenes of awesome power and a unique view of Japanese history, this is a marvelous production highlighted by the action scenes done by the Japan Action Club (JAC).

Saito Dosan: Rage of Power

1991

The Catch poster
6.7

A young man tries to overcome the hostility of his girlfriend's father, a tuna fisherman, by getting the father to teach him the trade's secrets.

The Catch

1983

Film credits

Behind the camera

13 Assassins poster
7.5

A sadistic Daimyo (feudal lord) rapes a woman and murders both her and her husband, but even when one of his own vassals commits suicide to bring attention to the crime, the matter is quickly hushed up. Not only will there be no punishment, but because the Daimyo is the Shogun's younger brother, he will soon be appointed to a high political position from which he could wreak even more havoc. Convinced that the fate of the Shogunate hangs in the balance, a plot is hatched to assassinate the Daimyo. The two most brilliant strategic minds of their generation find themselves pitted against each other; one is tasked to defend a man he despises, and has a small army at his disposal. The other is given a suicide mission, and has 12 brave men. They are the 13 Assassins.

13 Assassins

1963

Eleven Samurai poster
7.5

The lord of the Oshi fief is killed by his trespassing neighbour, the cruel and despotic Nariatsu, son of the former Shogun. After an investigation, the Oshi clan is blamed for what happened and sentenced to be disbanded. Eleven of the best samurai of the clan refuse the sentence and are willing to give their life for justice.

Eleven Samurai

1967

The Great Killing poster
7.3

A cynical samurai is left as the sole survivor to fulfill a plot to assassinate the puppet of a villain intent on usurping the shogunate in the 17th century. A Shogunate Elder connives to rule Japan by making his puppet, the Shogun's brother Tsunashige, the next Shogun. The best strategist in Japan, Yamaga, leads a plot to stop the Elder, but his cabal is betrayed and most of the conspirators are captured and tortured.

The Great Killing

1964

Chronicle of the Town Magistrate poster
NR

In a maelstrom of evil, can a new magistrate, samurai Mochizuki Koheita, with a reputation like an alley cat, bring order to the town of Horisoto, or is he, too a corrupt villain looking to gain wealth from the oppressed people? From the pen of famed samurai author Yamamoto Shugoro, this exciting tale turns the tables on the standard samurai story with a unique lead character previously portrayed in Ichikawa Kon’s “Dora Heita.”

Chronicle of the Town Magistrate

1992

Saito Dosan: Rage of Power poster
6.5

During the age of warring clans (Sengoku Jidai), many samurai lords sought to unite the country under their banners by becoming the supreme leader. One of the first to vie for power in this way was Saito Dosan, the 'Viper'. His son-in-law, Oda Nobunaga, did in fact unite the nation after subduing all of his enemies, yet falling at last to the treachery of one of his most trusted generals. This story is a pre-cursor to those later events as the brilliant military strategist Saito Dosan rises to power and notoriety as a great lord in his own right. Directed by Kudo Eiichi and with a tremendous supporting cast that includes Nakamura Toru as Oda Nobunaga and Chiba Shinichi as Akechi Mitsutsugu, battle scenes of awesome power and a unique view of Japanese history, this is a marvelous production highlighted by the action scenes done by the Japan Action Club (JAC).

Saito Dosan: Rage of Power

1991

The Fort of Death poster
6.5

The second Bounty Hunter film, when master killer Shikoro Ichibei takes up the cause of a group of farmers being driven to despair by the vile Lord Ozeki. The villainous lord has driven them to mounting their last stand at a deserted fort against an army of attackers. Wakayama Tomisaburo is superb as an expert in killing and military tactics, who leaves his medical practice at a clinic for the poor in order to counter the vicious tactics of that vile lord.

The Fort of Death

1969

Aftermath of Battles Without Honor and Humanity poster
7.8

Two Kyushu based yakuza groups are desperate for domaination of the area. When more powerful yakuza groups get involved in their power struggle, a group of childhood friends, belonging to different yakuza families, are caught in the middle. Lies, deceit, and backstabbing are in play resulting in a bloodbath and a quest for revenge...

Aftermath of Battles Without Honor and Humanity

1979

Industrial Spy poster
6.3

Kogure, an industrial spy, is tasked by Sawada, head of the research department of the Nisshin Corporation, to learn the secrets of the design of a new engine invented by a rival company. Kogure manages to obtain the secrets, but Sawada's goal was not the secrets themselves, but to use them to obtain the position of president of the company. Angered by Sawada's dirty tricks, Kigure begins to take revenge.

Industrial Spy

1968

Convicted Woman poster
NR

Set in the decadent mid-Edo period, this unconventional work depicts the story of a man who, after being pursued as one half of a double suicide, enters the Buddhist priesthood, breaks his vows, and emerges as a notorious villainous monk.

Convicted Woman

1966

Yokohama BJ Blues poster
7.8

BJ is a relatively unknown blues singer who scraps some bars in Yokohama. He does not earn much with it and to make ends meet he also acts as a private detective.

Yokohama BJ Blues

1981

Paper Crane Palanquin poster
10.0

The death of a samurai in a palanquin leads girl detective Oshichi to take action to crush a plot to overthrow the Shogunate.

Paper Crane Palanquin

1960

Shadow Warrior of Nobunaga Oda poster
NR

In Tensho 9, as Oda Nobunaga nears the unification of Japan, he assigns trusted generals to conquer remaining regions. Meanwhile, a peasant farmer named Sahei, resembling Nobunaga, is chosen by Hideyoshi and Sen no Rikyu to act as Nobunaga’s shadow. Furious at the idea of a double, Nobunaga confronts Sahei, who courageously performs the "Atsumori" dance, impressing Nobunaga enough to accept him as his Kagemusha. Sahei’s first test as the shadow warrior comes at a memorial service for the Oda family.

Shadow Warrior of Nobunaga Oda

1996

Dangerous Trade in Kobe poster
7.0

Using a lesser mobster as bait a government agent infiltrates a narcotics-smuggling gang to try to capture the boss. But his survival has a price.

Dangerous Trade in Kobe

1973

Ando Gumi Gaiden Genealogy of the Group Wolf 2 poster
NR

Sequel to 'Ando Gumi Gaiden Genealogy of the Group Wolf'

Ando Gumi Gaiden Genealogy of the Group Wolf 2

1998

Ando Gumi Gaiden Genealogy of the Group Wolf 2 poster
NR

Sequel to 'Ando Gumi Gaiden Genealogy of the Group Wolf'

Ando Gumi Gaiden Genealogy of the Group Wolf 2

1998

A Fishwife's Tale poster
NR

Hibari Misora plays Yoshiko, the popular daughter of a fish market owner. After discovering that she was adopted, she sets out to help her biological father who has fallen victim to an evil plot orchestrated by those who would take over his successful business.

A Fishwife's Tale

1961

Yakuza G-Men poster
NR

34th year of Meiji (1901). Japanese gangster Shuntaro Hibiki is forced to work for the police to find out who robbed a truck full of gold.

Yakuza G-Men

1965

Sure Death! 3 poster
7.0

Third movie in the Hissatsu (Sure Death!) Series. Chasing the killer of a lawman, a group of assassins fall foul of a group of blackmarket financiers who dispatch their own hitmen to dispose of them.

Sure Death! 3

1986

The Dropout poster
6.4

Detective Seiji Otaki is determined to find the psychopathic killer of a young woman who was ostensibly a student but in reality a high-priced prostitute. Even though he has been taken off the case for beating up a suspect, he refuses to let it go and recruits his mistress to act as a decoy for the killer. Her involvement turns out to be a fatal mistake, and when her husband gets out of prison, Detective Otaki is in worse trouble than ever.

The Dropout

1982

Hanzo: The Razor poster
NR

A pair of black-robed thieves who robbed many wealthy merchants in Edo one after another. One of them is a young woman who is called "Aoi no Kozo" because she always takes off her skin to show the tattoo on her back. The target of the robbers was the Kogi, and in particular, the big stores that were under the control of Hotta Bizen. Itami Hanzo, a Doshin known as "Kamisori Hanzo" discovers when he tracks down the Aoi no Kozo! What is the truth?!

Hanzo: The Razor

1984

Passion poster
6.5

A man tries to mend his past by helping his best friend’s sister.

Passion

1992

Castle of Owls poster
6.1

Movie adaptation of the 1959 ninja novel. With war against Korea looming on the horizon, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the 'Taiko' becomes the target of an assassination attempt to be carried out by the Iga Clan of ninja spies. Master spy Juzo Tsuzura (Ryutaro Otomo) is assigned the task, but first he must defeat a former Iga spy who has become a traitor, and outwit the treacherous woman that is trying to seduce him.

Castle of Owls

1963

The Viper Brothers: Up on 30 Charges poster
8.0

Part 7 in a long running (8+1 films) action/comedy/melodrama series about a pair of short tempered, amoral, but not evil chinpira (Bunta Sugawara and Tamio Kawachi) thinking too big of themselves. Katsuji finds his long lost mother, who is a rich lady of a respectable family. Comedy and melodrama ensue. A thrilling spectacle with an overly violent ending, and a remarkable, Japan's only post-prison rape comedy, Masa is determined to have sex with the female guard, despite the fact that there is a bar between them. Michi Azuma (topless swordswoman from Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril) plays a tomboy who wants to join her brothers.

The Viper Brothers: Up on 30 Charges

1974

Samurai Knights poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Samurai Knights

1961

Taira no Kiyomori poster
NR

The tale of Taira Kiyomori who started as a young inexperienced warrior who led the Heike into the battle against the brutal pirates on Setouchi.

Taira no Kiyomori

1992

Assassination Orders poster
6.5

The ronin, Sako Kanbei has to rescue the beautiful Princess Tsubaki from danger while young samurai of the Numata Clan stand up against their corrupt Chief Retainer and evil clan mistress. Kanbei wants to develop his swordsmanship only for himself, he finds that he has been implicated in a crime and must fight for justice in the ultimate battle to redeem his innocence. The swordplay in this film is reminiscent of the Lone Wolf and Cub series with its brutal and extended action sequences and awesome finale. A powerful motion picture about honor, love and cold steel!

Assassination Orders

1984

Betrayal Tomorrow poster
NR

A violent detective who can handle assault and blackmail in a straight forward manner.

Betrayal Tomorrow

1990

No artwork available
NR

As the monk Ryuun, whose past and origin make him prone to internal and external fits, leaves the temple towards Tokyo, he gets to catch a glimpse of enlightenment resonating with the blind Kanoko.

Water Moon

1989

No artwork available
7.0

Detective Umon’s services are called upon when ronin Yaichiro is killed with a peculiar weapon, a stone wrapped in a towel.

Case of Umon: Woman of the Magic Lantern

1961

Chivalrous Nature poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Chivalrous Nature

1965

47 Ronin and the Shadow Ninja poster
5.0

In Genroku-era Japan, after Lord Asano is forced to commit suicide for attacking Kira, Chief Retainer Araki sends Kaizuka Shingo undercover to investigate Oishi Kuranosuke's motives. As Kiras son deploys spies to stop Oishis revenge, Kaizuka joins the samurai's cause, setting the stage for a historic raid.

47 Ronin and the Shadow Ninja

1981

Nakibokuro poster
7.0

Junko Mizuta, who is returning from juvenile training school, is a former motorcycle gang. Even though he now works, he still goes to his father Junji's yakitori restaurant from time to time. One day, Junichi's uncle, who was returning home from school, came to see Junko and told him that Junji had passed away.

Nakibokuro

1991

Nakibokuro poster
7.0

Junko Mizuta, who is returning from juvenile training school, is a former motorcycle gang. Even though he now works, he still goes to his father Junji's yakitori restaurant from time to time. One day, Junichi's uncle, who was returning home from school, came to see Junko and told him that Junji had passed away.

Nakibokuro

1991

Account of the Ando Gang: Tale of a Scarface poster
6.5

“Gunro no keifu” is known as “Tale of a Scarface.” It follows the life of Kumoro, a yakuza member, who recently is released from prison after serving 14 years for his Family. Upon his return he finds the various yakuza syndicates on the brink of war. Kumoro is, at first, removed from the dealings of the families by his Boss, but slowly he is drawn back into his old ways.

Account of the Ando Gang: Tale of a Scarface

1997

Account of the Ando Gang: Tale of a Scarface poster
6.5

“Gunro no keifu” is known as “Tale of a Scarface.” It follows the life of Kumoro, a yakuza member, who recently is released from prison after serving 14 years for his Family. Upon his return he finds the various yakuza syndicates on the brink of war. Kumoro is, at first, removed from the dealings of the families by his Boss, but slowly he is drawn back into his old ways.

Account of the Ando Gang: Tale of a Scarface

1997

Ando Gumi Gaiden Genealogy of the Group Wolf poster
NR

A yakuza movie directed by Eiichi Kudo

Ando Gumi Gaiden Genealogy of the Group Wolf

1996

Ando Gumi Gaiden Genealogy of the Group Wolf poster
NR

A yakuza movie directed by Eiichi Kudo

Ando Gumi Gaiden Genealogy of the Group Wolf

1996

Cliff of Death poster
NR

Ogata is an employee of a securities company. He is selected as the president's secretary because of his ability. However, he has a romantic relationship with the president's daughter, Michiyo. The president sees this as a problem and transfers Ogata to the Hokkaido branch. Ogata takes revenge on the president. Ogata, who killed the company president who was recovering from a cerebral hemorrhage, marries his daughter. He tries to make the company and property his own, but... It depicts an ambitious man who will do anything to achieve his goal.

Cliff of Death

1982

Shadow Warriors: Hattori Hanzo poster
6.0

The tale takes place around 1650, after the death of the third Tokugawa shogun, when ronin were expelled from Edo, the military capital. During the political instability following the death of Iemitsu Tokugawa, Hanzo's Iga ninja clan battles against the Koga clan as various factions vie to seize power. The child shogun Ietsuna is kidnapped but turns out to be hidden under (or over) everyone's noses in a castle turret which is reinforced by a comic book villain, the fire-spitting black ninja. The good ninja has to get through all the traps & save the child.

Shadow Warriors: Hattori Hanzo

1980

Ring! Ring! Ring! The Champion Belt of Tears poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Ring! Ring! Ring! The Champion Belt of Tears

1993